Rock Slide at Whittier

[LarryL]

A friend of mine who has kids living in Anchorage told me about this a while ago. Apparantly there was a rock slide that has closed the tunnel at Whittier. No word yet for how long but it appears the area is unstable. I'll attach the article. The news story refers to an avalanche so who knows?

 

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/769962.html :mad:

 

Has anyone heard of this happening before? In Colorado we have rock slides but they only close roads for a short time. I wonder what the chances are they will change ports to Seward?

[melodyina]

Hi,

The rock slide affects a section of the road that vehicles use before reaching the tunnel. The train previous has not been affected. From whats been reported lately on the news, some boulders that are unstable are as large as RV's. Now, geologists find that the hill is unstable, which has caused a total delay while they scope things out. The town is 'stranded' and more recent news states 'garbage is building up' too.

 

Don't let the article confuse you, the train service was running 'Free transportation from Anchorage to Whittier' for a few days until the recent delays. Now they have stopped, and are running the transportation from Portage to Whittier. The Anchorage Daily News staff, poorly wrote the article.

 

I would believe Princess must certainly be actively planning a backup plan, in case this entire mess isn't cleared up. You are correct, there is only one way in/out of Whittier from Anchorage and thats through the tunnel. Its a true mess, with a short deadline.

 

Here's from the Whittier Tunnel webpage at

Update 4/22/2009 - Transportation to and from Whittier will continue by train until further notice. The unanticipated delay in implementing a restricted schedule is due to the instability of large rocks in the work zone that were identified late Monday night.

 

http://dot.alaska.gov/comm/pressbox/index.shtml

[melodyina]

Not to confuse - the rock slab places the PORTAGE ROAD in danger. It is that road that goes to the WHITTIER TUNNEL.

 

Here's what the Department of Transportation has to say:

DOT&PF postpones Portage Glacier Highway reopening

Rock slab poses potential threat of falling

A massive slide that dumped tons of rock and debris onto Portage Glacier Highway forcing the road’s closure April 11 continues to impede clean up operations and the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) has postponed Wednesday’s planned reopening. “A large section of rock at the top of the slide area is showing significant movement, so we have halted all site operations until the rock slope above the work zone can be stabilized and the area is safe for the workers,” said Frank Richards, DOT&PF’s Deputy Commissioner of Highways and Public Facilities.

DOT&PF contract geologists are developing a plan to blast the rock slab and then remove the resulting debris.

“At this time, we don’t want to estimate a date when the road will be opened,” Richards said. “The road will not open until we are sure the traveling public will be safe.”

The Alaska Railroad has established shuttle service for people desiring to travel between Anchorage and Whittier. Travelers can learn more about the railroad’s shuttle schedule on their website www.akrr.com or by calling 1-800-544-0552.

DOT&PF also encourages travelers to check the website 511.Alaska.gov – Travel in the Know where updated information will be posted regularly.

[The Mentalist]

Does the train have the capacity to transport +/- 3,000 passengers from Anchorage to Portage and then from Portage to Whittier (and the reverse) without mass chaos on embarkation/disembarkation days?

[melodyina]

Does the train have the capacity to transport +/- 3,000 passengers from Anchorage to Portage and then from Portage to Whittier (and the reverse) without mass chaos on embarkation/disembarkation days?

 

The way I would see it, the train wouldn't transport 'the masses' from Anch to Portage, it would be the buses as usual. The train, is handling the rock slide by transporting people from Portage to Whittier and Back.. thats about 5 miles or so, pending where they pickup.

 

But I think all this worry may just stir up emotions. From the sounds of it - DOT is going to blast and blast away, then haul and haul away. The cruise ship is 3 weeks away, and they are working on this problem now.

[ARRTrain]

The Portage to Whittier train trip is 13 miles long.

 

DOT is not putting anything into print on the reopening at this time. Estimate is 2-3 weeks. They will get something going by the first ship on May 16th.

 

The 1 lane pilot car was suppose to start up on Wednesday, but a rock slab is keeping that shutdown. A lane is cleared, but DOT says it is unsafe until they blast. Blasting will happen next week, according to Channel 2 News. “When everything is in place, the contractor will drill and blast 24 hours a day.”

 

Here's a link to pics.

 

http://www.dot.state.ak.us/comm/pressbox/arch_2009/PR09-portage-glacier-rd-clearing-photos.shtml#

[The Mentalist]

The Portage to Whittier train trip is 13 miles long.

 

DOT is not putting anything into print on the reopening at this time. Estimate is 2-3 weeks. They will get something going by the first ship on May 16th.

 

The 1 lane pilot car was suppose to start up on Wednesday, but a rock slab is keeping that shutdown. A lane is cleared, but DOT says it is unsafe until they blast. Blasting will happen next week, according to Channel 2 News. “When everything is in place, the contractor will drill and blast 24 hours a day.”

 

Here's a link to pics.

 

http://www.dot.state.ak.us/comm/pressbox/arch_2009/PR09-portage-glacier-rd-clearing-photos.shtml#

 

The following article makes clearing the rocks in the next few weeks sound possible, but it could be longer. I don't think they will know anything until they get started:

 

http://www.ktuu.com/global/story.asp?s=10241181

[tetleytea]

Getting nervous...we need that tunnel on May 18.

[ARRTrain]

DOT knows the road needs to get opened ASAP. They will probably need a good week to get things blasted and another few days to get it all moved out.